


Agony

by Winchester_with_Wings



Category: The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: DO NOT COPY, DO NOT REPLICATE, Do not repost, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:42:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25690768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winchester_with_Wings/pseuds/Winchester_with_Wings
Summary: How does Barry handle someone with extreme/chronic pain?
Relationships: Barry Allen & Reader, Barry Allen & You, Barry Allen/Reader, Barry Allen/You
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	Agony

[Click Here to see the fic on Tumblr and see the gifs I included/referenced.](https://winchester-with-wings.tumblr.com/post/624820602660847616/agony)

The pain. It stings. It burns. It's constant. But you live with it.

The doctors have done what they can, but it's not enough.

"We can manage the pain," they say, sticking you with needles.

You're numb, emotionally. It's a chronic condition and you live with it.

But Barry, he's new to this pain. Heart ache? He's had plenty. But what can he do when you're hurting?

"I can't…I can't help her. I don't know what to do," he says to himself as much as he says to Caitlin. She's trying all types of cold temperature therapies she can come up with. If anything, the burning of ice on your flesh is a different kind of pain, a distraction.

You spend almost all of your time at home or STAR Labs. You're not running any marathons anytime soon, but otherwise, life is good. You have a wonderful group of friends surrounding you. You've found purpose with the team, something far greater and more important that you ever imagined. You have a place here. So perhaps it's just the price you pay. A little pain in return for saving people, saving the city.

But it's on one of your bad days that STAR Labs has an unwelcome visitor. You do your best to get to somewhere safe, pressing the panic button on your phone but a sonic blast from the villain's weapon sends you sliding across the floor.

Barry gets to the lab just in time to hear the last notes of your scream. With Caitlin's help, the villain is apprehended quickly. And while perhaps it would've been better for Caitlin to check on you, Barry comes to your side instead.

"Oh, god. What can I do? Y/N, please, tell me what to do? Where does it hurt?" he whimpers, yanking off his cowl. Your agony is mirrored in his face. Your shaking hand reaches for your back but you spasm and curl in on yourself before you can do much else.

Barry looks around but Caitlin is nowhere to be found. She must've taken their adversary to the Pipeline. Barry realizes that his hands are shaking from adrenaline, from panic. It only takes a second thought to send them into a different frequency, vibrating his hands.

"Maybe…maybe I could…" he murmurs as he rests his hands on your body. He turns you so that you lay flat and he presses those blurring hands to your abdomen until your body starts to hum along with him. You understand what he's trying to do. You've thought about it before but had never had the guts to ask. Your body feels warm and numb as it vibrates and you think--just maybe--the pain in your spine is dulling. But of course, how could it be that easy? Was Barry just going to reach into your body and straighten out the bones that caused this pain? The longer he vibrates your body, the more discordant the rhythm becomes and your back starts counteracting the unnatural motions. You can't help but scream. Barry removes his hands and the sharp pain is gone. Caitlin comes rushing in. She chastises him for only a moment for trying something like that.

A few tears have streaked down Barry's face, their path marked in the absence of dirt on his face from his recent fights. "I'm--I'm sorry, I thought…I thought I could help…oh god…please tell me I didn't make it worse," he pleads as Ralph picks you up and deposits you on a gurney in the lab. Caitlin sedates you only after administering a painkiller.

"I won't know until we run some tests."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Barry waits outside of the Cortex, clenching his fists and rubbing his knuckles until they're red. He'd never forgive himself if his misguided attempt at saving you made you worse. You didn't always talk about it and it wasn't always noticeable but he knew how your chronic pain made you feel. The idea of some sort of vibration helping you was an idea that he'd been tossing around in his head and he'd thought that moment no better than any other opportunity. But what if he'd caused irrevocable damage? He couldn't bear it.

Oliver is standing over Barry, a small bouquet of flowers in his hand. He should've expected Oliver to show up at some point. You were a Star City native, you'd known Oliver longer than Barry even.

"You heard what happened?" Oliver is quiet. "Then you know it's my fault. It's all my fault. If I had even just gotten here sooner I could've stopped them from attacking Y/N," Barry grumbles, referring to the man now sitting in their pipeline. "I should've stopped him before he got here."

"Barry…you made a mistake, Barry," Oliver says, sitting next to him. "It's part of the job. You'll drive yourself crazy if all you ever think about is what if. You did what you thought you should do in that moment. That's all we could ask of you."

"But…" Barry wishes to reject Oliver's theory. It's all his fault! He could have crippled you! He wasn't a doctor. He'd been crazy to think his speed could heal you.

"Barry?" Caitlin asks for him, smiling at Oliver as a greeting. "Y/N wants to see you." He almost doesn't get up.

He can't help but feel the corner of his mouth turn up as he walks in and sees you in that bed. You're reading. Just reading as if it were just another morning in bed. He's glad to see you sitting up, even if it's at an angle. You look up from the words on the page to see Barry's remorse written all over his face. But you smile.

"Barry…" you reach out for him and he comes to your side. Oliver greets you as well, setting your flowers on a bedside table. "It's okay. I'm okay."

"I could've killed you," he says, resting his forehead on the back of your hand. He wouldn't dare let go.

"But you didn't. Barry…you…" you tug on your hand to get his attention, to get those green eyes to meet yours. "Barry, you helped me."

"What?" At first, he thinks you're simply talking about coming to your rescue but then he looks around the room, making eye contact with Caitlin. She's smiling.

"Barry, what you did…it was a huge risk…but it worked…I don't…feel anything anymore." He looks at your legs, misinterpreting you. "Nonono, what I'm saying is…whatever your did, it worked. My back…it doesn't hurt like before. It's still tender but it's the best kind of pain I've felt in a long time."

You're both crying at this point. "Thank you, thank you Barry. You saved me."

Of course more tests were needed but after a week's time, it had become clear that whatever frequency of vibration Barry had used it had positively affected your nerve endings and vertebrae.

Now the strongest feeling you felt every morning was gratitude. Gratitude, and love.


End file.
